


we'll be okay

by koolcatkenma



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Battle, Blood, Death, Love, M/M, Major Character Injury, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, it's deep in the beginning but it gets better i swear, klance, lost limbs, will tag more as the story developes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-04-21 07:23:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14279895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koolcatkenma/pseuds/koolcatkenma
Summary: They had been ambushed, thrown into a battle with no armor and no lions; and they were outnumbered. Lives could have been lost but they weren't.But limbs were.Keith and Lance, as well as Pidge, have to learn to live with the effects of the battle that they shouldn't gotten out of alive.And it's harder than they think.





	1. chaos

Lance wasn’t waking up.

Smoke clogged Keith's lungs and burned his eyes, but he kept screaming at his friend to wake the fuck up. His arm burned like a bitch but he kept shaking Lance. Blood flowed down his face and mixed with the tears that landed on Lance’s cheek but Keith still pumped his friend’s chest, knowing deep down that it was futile. He could hear their attackers marching up behind them; his ringing ears distorted his perception and Keith thought that they were farther away than they actually were. 

The first shot flew past his ear, and the second over his head. The pair was only partially hidden behind a broken part of the ship, and Keith’s sword was useless at such a long distance and only one working hand. He turned to face his certain death, sword raised and teeth clenched.

Just as he was about to run towards them, a shot came from behind and hit the ceiling above the soldiers, causing the whole thing to collapse on them, not only killing them but also further barricading the pair. Keith whipped around and in time to see Lance smirk as he fell back towards the ground, weapon clattering away. Blood gushed from the nubs where his legs once were, staining the blue firearm.

“Lance!” Keith cried as his friend closed his eyes once more and fell still. He collapsed next to him, wailing his name, calling for help. The alarm drowned out his sobs, and he was beginning to lose consciousness. He hoped to the gods that the rest were okay, and that they would be able to escape before the whole ship went down. 

His voice was lost in the chaos and his attempts to bring back Lance slowed, as his vision went spotty and he collapsed on top of his teammate.


	2. the city

“It’s just a security check. Nothing too big, no lions needed. We’re just going to meet the people of this planet and make peace with the new leader.” Allura explained, piloting the ship to land in the middle of an open meadow. Keith looked around. This planet looked the closest to earth, with long expanses of salt water and land to match. The gravity was lighter than earth’s, but the oxygen levels were compatible. It grew the same plants and had similar animals, and different parts of the planet experienced four seasons. Where the leader was located, it was the middle of spring, and cherry blossom looking trees were in full bloom, surrounding the meadow. 

Allura advised them to keep their weapons hidden, as these people were especially skittish. It was a miracle that they were even allowed to approach their city. Coran was to stay on the ship with Hunk to perform minor upgrades and repairs.

Lance was by far the most excited about this mission. Keith noticed him gazing out the windows while the princess talked, watching the wind move the tall grass. Butterflies would land on the ship briefly before letting the breeze carry them away. 

“It’s just like Earth. It’s just like home.” He whispered to himself, reaching out to touch the glass. 

Keith couldn’t help but feel a little eager. They hadn’t seen their home planet in what seemed like decades, when in reality it was only a couple of months (he thought). In fact, all the paladins were a little anxious, ready to step onto soft soil and breathe in fresh air. When Allura finally finished her speech, the team prepared themselves, dressed in regular clothes to seem more friendly to the inhibitors of this planet. 

This wasn’t their first mission like this; in fact, it was in the double digits at this point. The galaxy seemed to be going through a period of peace, and it gave the team a chance to build allies and collect more information about the surrounding planets. Keith was almost positive that they were fairly close to their galaxy, since each planet became increasingly familiar. 

“Alright, Paladins. Let’s move out!” The ramp lowered and the team was greeted with a rush of cool air, and Keith could see everyone visibly relax. Even Shiro, their ever on edge leader, let his guard down. 

“This is amazing. Look at all the flowers! It’s just like this clearing near my house, except the trees surrounding are pines, but you get the picture.” Lance ran ahead, reaching solid ground first. Shiro and Allura followed, chatting to one another, followed by Pidge taking notes, and Keith was the last to touch the ground, And as soon as his boot hit dirt, it was as if it opened a floodgate of memories. Memories from his time on earth, before Voltron, before the Garrison, when he was only a child. He remembered his mom and dad, or at least vague, blurry figures of a mom and dad. He remembered playing out in a field similar to this, picking flowers resembling these, climbing trees like the ones here. 

Lance seemed to be having the same experience, expect more emotional. A tear rolled down his cheek as he remembered his family, and how worried they probably were. He always said he wanted to be buried in the clearing near their house, close to home. He wondered if they had a memorial there for him. 

Keith came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“C’mon, buddy. The quicker we get this over with, the longer we have to explore this place.” 

Lance was taken out of his trance and nodded, wiping the wetness from his eyes. The two walked together, falling behind the other three. 

“I can’t wait to see my family again.” His friend muttered, staring at the ground. Keith stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded. He didn’t really feel the same, since he had no family to go back to; in fact, he liked traveling the galaxy better. He had the only friend he had with him, and he could want nothing more. But he’d never give Lance the satisfaction of knowing that Keith considered him his ‘best’ friend. 

“My brothers begged me to bring them back some moon rocks. I said I’d bring them the whole damn planet as long as they didn’t touch my shit while I was gone.” He grinned, kicking some dirt. “They’d be pretty disappointed if I brought them back rocks from here.”

Keith smiled. “Yeah, they would be.”

“Hey, I was wondering. If we ever end up back home, would you want to stay with my family? It’s a full house, but I’m sure they’d love to meet you. I mean, I extended this offer to Hunk and Pidge too, but they both turned me down, and Shiro is also welcome to come-” Lance stammered on before Keith interrupted him.

“A house full of different versions of you? Sounds like my own personal hell.” He glanced at Lance, who was now staring back at him, pink in the cheeks. “But yeah, I’d like that.” 

Before Lance could respond, Allura was telling them to hurry up, that they were almost there. As the group exited the forest, a stunning city came into view. It reminded Lance of a cleaner, brighter New York City. The towers gleamed silver, streets made of cobblestone, air clean and smog free. He could see what looked to be hover cars weaving between the buildings, spotting the sky with reds, yellows, greens and more. It was quite a sight, taking his breath away.

They approached one of the many foot bridges connecting the city to the forest, stretching over an expanse of water so blue and sparkling it was like diamonds were scattered throughout.

Two guards stood on either side, standing tall and holding spears taller than they were. The aliens towered over them, with long thick legs, torsos, and arms. Their heads didn’t move as the group came closer, Shiro leading. He had hidden his galra arm under a tight fitting shirt and black gloves. Lance had mentioned earlier that he was almost as emo as Keith, which earned him a knock on the head from the most emo boy in Voltron.

“Hello. My name is Shiro and I am the leader of Voltron. We come in peace to speak to your leader.” He said, stepping forward. Neither moved for a few second, before something triggered them to move to the side, exposing the opening of the bridge. The guards still didn’t say anything but they took it as a sign that they were welcome. 

As they passed the pair, Lance noticed that their skin was tree bark and their spears were of the same material. Their mouths were nearly decorations, as were the eyes. It was almost...unsettling.

Nobody else seemed to noticed as they began the trek across the river. Lance chalked it up to nerves and shook it off. The bridge was well built, not even swaying in the wind. When they reached the end, they expected to see the inhabitants of the planet milling about, tending to the store shops and heading to jobs. But there was nobody around. Stores looked open but had no owner. The smell of baking bread poured out of a bakery but there was no baker. 

“Where is everyone?” Pidge wondered out loud, walking up to a store front. They jiggled the handle but it was locked, although all the lights were on. 

“This is strange. I talked to the leader only last night. They knew we were coming. They said someone would be here to pick us up at the end of the bridge.” Allura slowed her pace, looking around. 

It was dead silent, the only sounds being their voices. Keith’s hand immediately went to where his weapon was hidden, ready for whatever would happen. Lance did the same, looking at Shiro.

“I don’t know what’s happening. Maybe they think we’re intruders? But the guardians let us in…” He trailed off, rubbing his head.

“Let’s just continue forward. If we keep walking, we’ll eventually see someone or something else. Keep your weapons hidden until I say so. If we get into trouble, meet back at the forest clearing. Use the wrist trackers to find the ship again.” Everyone nodded, and fell behind Shiro’s lead. 

They continued to pass shop after shop, house after house, with no creature in sight. Every door was locked and light on. The hover cars they thought contained travelers were actually empty, wandering about passengerless. It was a wonder that they weren’t crashing into each other

“I assume their headquarters is the tallest building? Maybe we should head in that direction.” Lance offered, gesturing towards a building in the distance. Shiro shrugged.

“It’s worth a shot. Hopefully the doors are open. If not, it might be worth going back to the ship and doing aerial surveillance.” 

Allura led this time, with Shiro close behind. Keith and Lance took the rear while Pidge researched on their tech band, looking up as to why this city could be abandoned.

Lance looked around, and started to notice something odd about the city. It looked...less put together up front. Yeah, the stores and first floors of the buildings were furnished and the lights were on, but past that, the second story up was pitch black. The cobblestone streets looked more like huge stones had been pressed into wet dirt. And the buildings weren’t made of silver; more like sheet metal spray painted the color. 

If people had been living in the city, there would be drapes in the windows or trash on the streets, or even trash cans. The rocks wouldn’t look so new, like he was the first to walk this path. The storefronts would be full of advertisements for their products, but half the time Lance didn’t know what the store was trying to sell. 

“Hey guys...I think this is a fake city.” He kept his voice low, feeling like he was suddenly being watched. They slowed their pace and turned to look at him. Lance gestured to the things he had noticed and slowly, fear began to creep into their minds. 

“Let’s head back. Don’t make any big moves, act like you're still trying to find something.” Shiro whispered. He felt it too; the eyes on them.

Instead of doing an abrupt turn, they rounded a corner and headed back down another street, to make it seem like they were still searching for something. Their weapons were still hidden, but everyone was much more alert. Pidge had notified Hunk and Coran about their situation, and told them to be ready for them when they got back. 

Lance could see the bridge when the first strike came. It was one of the hover ars, or now that he saw it up close, it was a small disguised spacecraft, and it was being piloted by...a plant? No, it was a green human like creature with flowers growing out of them. They tried to crash the ship into the group, but missed by inches. 

“Weapons out! Be careful, you have no armor, so no unnecessary close combat!” Shiro ripped off his gloves, putting his arm up as he ran past the burning ship, the rest of the team not far behind.

“Lance! Cover us!” Allura shouted as she sprinted after Shiro. Pidge drew their weapon while calling Coran. Keith had his shield and sword out, while Lance got his firearm and had his head on a swivel, looking out for any incoming ships and enemies. The bridge was so close, Lance could practically smell the salt water when it happened; the city collapsed in on itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of a filler, haha. sorry! next chapter may be up tomorrow, so you won't have to wait long for some action!
> 
> Also! My laptop is currently useless, so i am borrowing my sister's old one, which has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. so bare with me!


	3. Chapter 3

These enemies weren’t anything like the Galra they’ve been fighting for so long. They were hell bent on killing without regard for anything around them. The 

 

It seemed like this time, unlike the galra, these enemies were trying to kill instead of capture. But they also wanted to ensure their deaths. Lance could feel himself falling, arms flailing, trying to grasp anything to slow his descent. He could see his comrades doing the same, as debris fell around them. Just as Lance could see the hard earth approaching, he was snatched out of the air and thrown against metal. Lance grasped a piece of it jutting out. It was the yellow lion.

Hunk maneuvered around the falling city, catching everyone in the lion’s mouth before landing on the ground. He immediately came out from the cockpit to make sure everyone was alive and okay, which they were. 

Their relief was short lived; just as they were descending into the lion, a huge beam of light hit the ship and knocked it on it’s side. Allura and Pidge managed to fall into the Lion, along with Hunk, but the other three weren’t as lucky. They fell the ground, landing with a thud. Lance screamed out on pain, feeling his shoulder dislocate. 

“Lance!” Keith yelled, getting up to run to him. He almost made it when another beam of light was shot, narrowly missing them. Lance grit his teeth and got up, closing his eyes as he knew what he had to do.

Keith watched in horror was Lance relocated his shoulder, screaming in pain. He looked away and at Shiro, who was in battle mode. 

“Keith! Get Lance to the Lion now! I’ll cover you two!” 

Keith jumped to action, grabbing the paladin by the hand and dragging him in the direction of the ship. Guardians like the ones at the bridge started to pour in, moving faster than the ones previously. These guys were armed with guns bigger than Lance, and armor about as thick as a tree. 

Lance let go of Keith’s hand and pulled out his weapon, stopping to shoot at the monsters.

“Lance, no!”

He shot, hitting one right between the eyes. He fell back, his skin catching flames.

“They’re made of wood!” He cried, releasing a hail of bullets onto the approaching army. Several fell back and onto their own, catching fire and staying down. Others pushed past their fallen brethren, using their bodies as shields against Lance’s attacks.

“Lance, get onto the ship while you still can! Come on!”

In his mind, Lance knew he should have listened to Keith. He knew that they could never defeat the whole army without armour or the lions. But for some reason his legs stayed glued, weapon raised, shooting every last monster he could. Lance could hear Shiro crying out, battling with what seemed to be one of their leaders. Keith was yelling at him, to come back to them and flee, that this was a losing battle. There was no one to save but themselves, no citizens. It had been a trap all along.

But before he could make a decision himself, it was made for him. A chunk of ceiling fell between Shiro and them, too large to run around and too on fire to climb over. Their leader shouted for them, something ineligible. Keith grabbed Lance again and look back towards the approaching army. It didn’t look like any of their efforts had slowed them, and their numbers had dwindled. With a tight grip on his teammate, Keith yanked him away, hearing him cry out in pain but bear through it. The two ran through fire and debris, looking for a way to the lion. Hopefully his teammates were safe in the lion. He would radio to them when he was hidden. 

They rounded corners, their feet making noise on the metal floor. The troops were falling behind them, their sounds becoming further and further away. 

Lance was slowing down, his injuries becoming more apparent. Keith could barely hear them, so he slowed to a stop too. They ducked into a room and collapsed, panting. Keith fooled with the watch on his wrist, trying to get a signal out. It beeped a few times before turning green, and he assumed that it was because his efforts worked. 

“Lance, are you okay?” The paladin turned to his friend, who was clutching his shoulder, bleeding from his arm. It was worse than just a dislocated shoulder; he had burns all down his arm, blood seeping from the places where shards of glass and metal had pierced his skin. Keith approached him, hands hovering over the wounds. He wasn’t sure if he should take the pieces out or not; if they led to infection, Keith feared he would lose the whole arm. But what if he took them out and he bled out before the others could get to them? 

Lance coughed, spitting blood onto the floor next to him. 

 

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” He sat up, wincing in pain. Keith reached out and touched the none injured arm. Lance smiled.

“You worry too much. Gods, my legs are burning. Anymore running like that and they might fall off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm alive!! sorry about that, i started a new university and such. will be uploading weekly or biweekly once finals are over!!! tumblr: happiishiro  
> come yell at me to write more

**Author's Note:**

> Do I continue? I have a couple of pages done but they need to be edited, so I will probably update once or twice a week. Three times if i'm feeling good haha! Check out my klance based tumblr [happiishiro](happiishiro.tumblr.com)
> 
> comments are appreciated!!


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